If you are looking for a rich, delicious, dark chocolate ice cream recipe, stop. You’ve found it. This decadent chocolate ice cream might be my all time favorite ice cream recipe. Everything you crave about chocolate ice cream is covered here. Go ahead, grab a spoon. I’ll wait.
Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream
I’ll admit it, I don’t make homemade ice cream very often. It’s kind of odd given that…
1. I have a great ice cream maker.
2. I have incredibly fond memories from childhood of my Dad making his homemade ice cream (in the big wooden ice cream making machine).
3. My kids request chocolate ice cream all the time.
I’m not sure why I don’t. I think it’s probably because most of the recipes have a lot of steps, and I have a seriously short attention span which tunes out after step seven of almost anything. Well that and the fact that seeing the amount of cream that goes into ice cream is a bit mind boggling. But with the recent arrival of pretzel cones in my house, it was time to pull out the ice cream maker and get to work on a delicious dark chocolate ice cream recipe.
And I think it’s safe to say it was worth it…
I tried my best to document every step of this chocolate ice cream recipe with photos for you. This recipe takes a bit more time to make than my cookies and cream ice cream recipe, but I promise you it’s worth it.
This is the kind of chocolate ice cream that makes you very sad when your bowl is empty. VERY SAD PEOPLE.
If you are looking for light and healthy recipes, just run away now. You’ve been warned. This is a once in a while treat, so if you want to indulge a bit than here we go!
I started by weighing and then chopping up my chocolate, which was the Pound Plus bar from Trader Joe’s and measuring out my ingredients. Turns out a pint of cream is equal to two cups. Love when things work out like that.
Once that was done, it was time to get to really get to work.
Place your milk in a medium size bowl. If you have a fine mesh strainer, place that over your bowl for later use. In a separate medium to large size bowl, whisk your two egg yolks and set aside.
In a large saucepan, combine your cream, cocoa powder and sugar.
Whisk the ingredients together to incorporate the solids.
Heat over medium high heat until just boiling, then remove the pan from heat and whisk in the chopped up chocolate in three additions, making sure that the pieces are dissolved before continuing.
After chopped up chocolate has been added, melted and dissolved into the mixture, take a ladle or large spoon and add a small amount of the warm mixture to your bowl with the beaten egg yolks (only a small amount to start unless you want chocolate cooked eggs). Whisk together well and then add the rest of the warm chocolate mixture to the yolks, whisking constantly.
Now return the chocolate and egg mixture to your saucepan and heat on medium high heat, while stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken slightly. Remove pan from heat at that point.
At this point you are done with the stove. Yay! You will now pour your chocolate mixture into your bowl that contains your milk. If you have the fine mesh strainer, pour it through the strainer. This is to catch any tiny pieces of egg that might have ‘cooked’ in the process. If you don’t have a fine mesh strainer, don’t sweat it, it’s not that big of deal (unless you made scrambled eggs, then we may have some issues…).
Stir in the vanilla and salt until everything is smooth. Transfer your bowl to the fridge for a few hours to cool (at least 2-3 hours). After chilling in the fridge, it’s finally time to break out the ice cream maker. Pour your chocolate ice cream mixture into the machine and follow the instructions that come with the machine (mine is super easy, you just turn it on – that’s it).
After the ice cream maker does it’s job, then it’s time to transfer your chocolate ice cream to a container and put in the freezer. This is the point when I added in my mix ins, which were mini Trader Joe’s peanut butter cups and more of the chopped dark chocolate bar.
You could eat this chocolate ice cream at this point, my daughter did. It is however very soft – like melting soft serve. Some time in the freezer definitely helps it achieve a more solid ice cream state.
And now that you’ve spent 5493 hours making the best chocolate ice cream recipe (okay, maybe that’s a tad exaggerated) you get to enjoy it.
I can’t quite express how out of the world amazing this chocolate ice cream is. Pair it with a pretzel cone and and it’s total nirvana. This is what ice cream dreams are made of, and sometimes they do come true.
Deep. Dark. Dense. Decadent. Delicious. Dreamy.
The pretzel cones are an amazing salty crunchy contrast to the luscious dark chocolate.
Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe
Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup fat free or 1% milk
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 cups heavy cream / heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons of dark cocoa (you could use regular, but dark is awesome!)
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 5-6 ounces of dark chocolate (chopped (I used Trader Joe’s Pound Plus Bar))
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Optional: Mix ins of your choice such as chocolate chips (nuts, peanut butter cups)
Instructions
- First, pour milk in a large bowl and place a fine mesh strainer over the bowl. In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk two egg yolks. Set aside.
- Next, In a large saucepan, combine heavy cream, cocoa powder and sugar. Whisk well to evenly to fully incorporate. Heat over medium-high heat until just boiling. Remove the pan from the heat, and whisk in the chocolate in three additions, making sure that all the chocolate pieces are dissolved before adding more chocolate.
- Using a soup ladle or large spoon to transfer a very small amount of the warm chocolate mixture to the small bowl with the egg yolks and whisk vigorously. Repeat with another ladle or spoonful, again whisking vigorously.
- Next transfer the entire contents of the small bowl back into the saucepan and return to medium-high heat.
- Continue to heat the chocolate mixture, stirring constantly, until the liquid begins to thicken slightly. Remove pan from the heat.
- Strain the chocolate mixture through the fine mesh sieve and into the bowl containing the fat free milk. (The sieve is there to catch any tiny egg pieces that might have cooked).
- Finally, stir in the vanilla and salt until everything is smooth, and then transfer the bowl to the fridge to let it cool completely (about 3 hours).
- After three hours, process according to instructions on your ice cream maker, adding any desired mix-ins according to schedule advised for ice cream maker. Once ice cream is finished, freeze or serve. Enjoy!
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
Sorry, this chocolate ice cream is mine, you’re going to have to make your own.
Want more great ice cream recipes to try? I hear ya. And I’ve got some great suggestions for you: She Wears Many Hats has a great Homemade Peach Ice Cream recipe that is perfect for summer. My friend Mary over at Barefeet In The Kitchen takes your chocolate ice cream to a whole other level with her Dark Chocolate Orange Ice Cream recipe. Looking to keep it easy peasy? My friend Rebecca from Foodie With Family has you covered with a scrumptious 3 Ingredient Strawberry Ice Cream recipe. And don’t miss Grandbaby Cake’s incredible Raspberry Banana Ice Cream recipe.
Enjoy!
Originally published April 2012.
Meet Christi, Love From The Oven
I’m Christi I love sharing easy & delicious recipes that your family & friends will love. I’m a mom, baker, cookbook author and lover of sprinkles.
This is the 4th time we’re making this delicious ice cream! We add crushed graham crackers and melted marshmallows when it’s done: excellent! This is the first time I noticed that adding the salt was not in the directions, just in the list of ingredients. I just took a taste of the cooling mixture, and it tasted salty! Was the 1/2 teaspoon always the amount added? Was it supposed to be kosher salt?
Elise, was this not an issue the previous three times you’ve made it? You can certainly use less salt if you prefer, I personally think the touch of salt helps offset the sweet wonderfully. I’m a big believer that chocolate and salt are a perfect pair! 🙂
Hi, could you use a milk chocolate bar instead of dark? Also, every chocolate ice cream I’ve made without eggs tastes like cocoa powder. Im hoping the melted chocolate helps that
You can, I just personally (strongly) dislike milk chocolate so I never use it. Just a matter of taste.
Excellent !!
Sooo yummy and not hard to make.
Recipe calls for 1/2 tsp salt but this ingredient is not included in the recipe.
SOOO chocolatey, anything made with TJ’s pound plus bar is fabulous in my book lol!